Pastries: Pie, Cream Horns, Apple Danish, and Pate a Choux

Pastries is on of my favorite units to teach. So excited to share some of my notes and labs with you. Happy Baking!!!

Pastry Defined

True pastry is defined as a dough made from fat, flour and liquid that bakes in "layers". the layers create "flakiness". This flaky dough is used in variety of breads, candies, desserts and of course pie. Making good pastry is a real challenge to bakers because the layers of fat and flour are delicate and must be handled gently.

Pastry Ingredients

Flour provides structure to the pastry. Flour contains two proteins gliadin and glutenin, and when these two proteins are mixed with water they come together to create gluten. Gluten is needed in bread products for structure, but to much gluten in a pastry and the pastry will become tough.

Liquids add moisture to your pastry and help the dough come together. The most common liquid is water, but other liquids are used as well; such as milk. Be careful with liquids because to much and your product will become soggy. I recommend adding a tablespoon at a time.

Fat aides in "tenderness". Types of fats that you can use in pastry are butter, margarine, vegetable shortening, lard and sometimes oil.

Flavorings add depth to your pastry. Examples of flavorings are salt and sugar. Sometimes other spices are used.

For Pie:
*** I use the SkillsUSA Pastry Dough Recipe
*** I use the Johnson and Wales Apple Pie Filling Recipe

A basic pastry dough is called a 3-2-1 dough. Meaning it is 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, and 1 part water.

Steps to Making 3-2-1 Dough
Step 1: Measure flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add chilled solid fat.
*(Fat being chilled helps slow the melting process).

Step 2: Us a pastry blender to "cut in" the shortening, making a course crumb with lumps about the size of peas.

Step 3: Use a fork to "toss" the flour while very slowly adding cold water. You will have to judge the consistency, and add water as need to cause the dough to come together. The flour mixture will begin to form clumps as the water is added and cling together.
*Cold water will again help the fat to keep from melting.

Step 4: Use your hands to form dough into a soft ball.
*The dough does not need to be sticky.

Step 5: Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for about 30 min or as long as 3 days.
*Make sure it is completely covered or the dough will dry out.

Rolling out Pastry

Step 1: LIGHTLY flour your work surface, and place your dough in the center.

Step 2: Flatten the ball of dough with your hands. Flour the surface of both sides of the dough, and the rolling pin.

Step 3: ***** The direction that you roll your pastry is very important. Always begin in the center of your pastry and roll outward. I like to rotate the pastry with each roll to help prevent sticking. Pick up your rolling pin each time and return to center before rolling out again. Do your best to maintain a circle shape. To know when you are done rolling take your pie pan and turn upside dough on the dough. You want to have at least 1 inch overhang on each side.

Step 4: Picking up the crust. There are two methods, that you can use to pick up your crust from your work space, and transport it to your pin pan. First, is the quarter method. Fold your pastry in half and then in half again to obtain a triangle shape. Place the tip of the triangle in the center of your pan and open up to fill your pan. Secondly, is the rolling pin method. Gently roll your pastry on to your rolling pin and place on the edge of your pie pan, and unroll to fill your pan.

Finishing a Pie Crust

Edges

Blind Baking

Double Crusts

Lattice-Top Crust

Roll-in Dough is another type of pastry. Roll-in or laminated doughs are used in making puff pastries. The dough must be rolled, folded, rolled again, and layered with butter. This process can be repeated numerous times. *** I use refrigerated puff pastry for labs.

Cream Horns
In my classroom we do not have cream horn molds. I have students create cones out of card stock, cut them to size, and wrap them with aluminum foil.
***In lab we fill cream horns with mocha whipping cream